Empello
Empello is a UK-headquartered anti-fraud and compliance platform for mobile payments, VAS and Direct Carrier Billing, selling FraudScan and FraudStop subscriptions plus add-on modules to mobile operators, aggregators and content providers across 30+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Empello does
Empello is a UK-headquartered, private anti-fraud and compliance solutions provider focused on the mobile payments, Value-Added Services (VAS) and Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) ecosystem. Founded in June 2012 by three former heads of VAS at Vodafone and T-Mobile, the company was established in response to growing fraud and non-compliance in the UK mobile billing industry, and over a decade has expanded operations to more than 30 countries with regional offices in Sharjah (UAE, MENA) and São Paulo (LATAM) and a distributed staff of approximately 50 people.
The company's platform is anchored by two core products. FraudScan delivers continuous market monitoring of advertising campaigns from the initial ad banner or social post through to the payment page, combining automated monitoring tools with in-depth human analyst research, deployed in 30 countries and currently tracking over 50,000 ad campaigns per month. FraudStop is a click-checking and payment-page cybersecurity layer that uses more than 100 blocking criteria and a proprietary AI model trained on FraudScan data to assign tokens to users and block fraudulent payments and subscriptions in real time. Around these cores sits an extended portfolio: CertifEYE for video capture of payment-page journeys, SecureAccess as a consent gateway validating MSISDN and OTP flows between merchants, aggregators and operators, Service Approval & Testing with proprietary handsets across 30 countries, VAS-intel for compliance and market intelligence reporting, Service Tester for ongoing service checking, and Bespoke Development Services for custom operator portals and APIs.
Empello generates revenue primarily through annual enterprise subscription contracts with mobile network operators, VAS aggregators and content providers, priced per market coverage and transaction or campaign volume rather than on a publicly disclosed rate card, supplemented by professional-service fees for testing, certification and bespoke development. The company sells via direct enterprise field sales and consultative engagement, supported by thought-leadership content (annual and mid-year market reviews, regional webinars, AfricaCom/Telemedia event presence), and counts Vodafone UK, TPAY, TIMWE, Digital Virgo, SAM Media, Proximus Belgium and Orange Côte d'Ivoire among named enterprise customers, with cumulative blocking volumes reported at over 55 million fraudulent transactions in H1 2021 and a curated blacklist of more than 2,000 rogue Google Play Store apps.
Empello firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Empello
- Legal name
- EMPELLO LTD
- Website
- https://empello.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Empello is a UK-headquartered anti-fraud and compliance platform for mobile payments, VAS and Direct Carrier Billing, selling FraudScan and FraudStop subscriptions plus add-on modules to mobile operators, aggregators and content providers across 30+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Empello industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Payments Anti-Fraud Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payments Fraud & Chargeback Prevention (HDADALAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Identity Verification & Digital ID (IDV, eIDAS, biometrics) (FSAGAFAA)
Keywords
Where Empello is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Empello business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Anti-Fraud Monitoring Services: Subscription-based monitoring services for mobile operators and VAS providers. Includes FraudScan market monitoring and FraudStop click checking services. Revenue derived from per-transaction monitoring, per-campaign analysis, and ongoing compliance reporting.
- Service Testing & Certification: Pre-launch certification and ongoing service testing for VAS services. Includes payment page compliance verification, end-to-end service inspection, and customer service verification.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise pricing based on market coverage and service requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Empello product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Empello provides anti-fraud and compliance solutions for the mobile payments, VAS (Value-Added Services), and DCB (Direct Carrier Billing) ecosystem. The company operates a software platform comprising FraudScan for advertising fraud market monitoring and FraudStop for payment fraud click checking, complemented by CertifEYE, SecureAccess, Service Approval & Testing, VAS-intel, and bespoke development modules to protect mobile operators, aggregators, and content providers across 30+ countries.
Product overview
Empello is an anti-fraud and compliance solutions provider for the mobile payments, VAS (Value-Added Services), and DCB (Direct Carrier Billing) industry. The company offers a platform-plus-products architecture centered on two core products: FraudScan for advertising fraud detection and monitoring, and FraudStop for payment fraud protection. These are complemented by several specialized modules including CertifEYE (journey capture/video recording), SecureAccess (consent gateway), Service Approval & Testing, Service Tester, VAS-intel (intelligence/reporting), and Bespoke Development Services. The products work together to provide end-to-end protection across the VAS/DCB ecosystem, with monitoring deployed in 30 countries covering over 50,000 ad campaigns per month. Founded in 2012, Empello has accumulated unparalleled data and expertise through continuous monitoring of advertising, payment processes, and fraudulent traffic.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FraudScan: Anti-fraud monitoring solution that provides comprehensive detection of fraudulent advertising campaigns through in-depth analyst research and automated monitoring tools across advertising networks and social platforms
- FraudStop
- CertifEYE
- SecureAccess
- Service Approval & Testing
- Bespoke Development Services
- VAS-intel
Products and services
- FraudScan
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced serious compliance issues from 13.5% to 2.5% for SAM Media
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Empello
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Empello technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Empello partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Empello competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Integral Ad Science (IAS): IAS is a global ad verification and fraud prevention company covering digital media quality. Its fraud-detection capabilities overlap with Empello's advertising fraud monitoring, though IAS serves a much broader advertiser base.
- AppsFlyer: AppsFlyer is a leading mobile attribution and marketing analytics platform with a fraud protection layer (Protect360). It addresses overlapping advertising fraud problems in mobile ecosystems, though from a broader marketing-tech vantage.
- HUMAN (formerly White Ops): HUMAN specializes in bot, abuse, and fraud prevention across digital advertising and applications. Its fraud detection capabilities and ad verification products overlap with Empello's monitoring of fraudulent traffic and subscription abuse.
- DoubleVerify: DoubleVerify provides digital media measurement and fraud prevention across display, video, and CTV. It is a broad incumbent in ad verification and competes with Empello's FraudScan in identifying fraudulent advertising exposure.
- Sift: Sift provides digital trust and safety / payments fraud prevention powered by ML. While not VAS-specific, its payments-fraud product competes with FraudStop in protecting against subscription and payment fraud.
- ThreatMetrix (LexisNexis Risk Solutions): ThreatMetrix, part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, provides digital identity and payments fraud prevention globally. Its digital fraud network competes conceptually with Empello's data-driven fraud detection approach across payments.
Direct peers
- Upstream Security: Upstream provides mobile network security and anti-fraud solutions focused on telco and DCB ecosystems. It is among the closest direct competitors to Empello, addressing subscription fraud and content/service abuse on operator networks.
- Pixalate: Pixalate offers ad fraud detection and protection across CTV, mobile, and apps. Its analytics-driven approach to invalid traffic (IVT) and supply path auditing is comparable to Empello's FraudScan-style advertising fraud monitoring.
- Adjust: Adjust is a mobile measurement and fraud prevention platform with a dedicated mobile ad fraud suite (e.g., Fraud Prevention Suite). It overlaps with Empello's FraudScan in advertising fraud detection across mobile channels.
Emerging players
- Arkose Labs: Arkose Labs focuses on bot and account takeover fraud prevention with an emphasis on user friction/decisioning. It addresses adjacent payment fraud problems to FraudStop, particularly for subscription and onboarding flows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Empello social profiles
Digital presenceEmpello financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Empello leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Empello funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Empello M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Empello
What does Empello do?
Empello provides anti-fraud and compliance solutions for the mobile payments, VAS (Value-Added Services), and DCB (Direct Carrier Billing) ecosystem. The company operates a software platform comprising FraudScan for advertising fraud market monitoring and FraudStop for payment fraud click checking, complemented by CertifEYE, SecureAccess, Service Approval & Testing, VAS-intel, and bespoke development modules to protect mobile operators, aggregators, and content providers across 30+ countries.
Is Empello a public or private company?
Empello is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Empello founded?
Empello was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Empello based?
Empello is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Empello make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Anti-Fraud Monitoring Services are the primary driver. The others are service Testing & Certification.
Who are Empello's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Integral Ad Science (IAS), AppsFlyer, HUMAN (formerly White Ops), DoubleVerify, Sift and ThreatMetrix (LexisNexis Risk Solutions). Direct peers are Upstream Security, Pixalate and Adjust. Arkose Labs is listed as an emerging player.
Does Empello have an API?
Yes. Empello offers an API implementation for enterprise and partner integrations. The API enables merchants and mobile operators to integrate with Empello's anti-fraud solutions. CertifEYE can be activated via a simple script and managed from within the FraudStop dashboard. SecureAccess provides a token-based authorization system where the token can be validated by Mobile Operators in a direct integration with the Empello API to allow activation. FraudStop uses token-based tracking where each visit to the payment page is assigned a token with suspicious parameters recorded against it. The API supports activation by merchant, campaign ID, or specific time periods.
What industry is Empello in?
Empello's product category is Mobile Payments Anti-Fraud Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADALAE, Payments Fraud & Chargeback Prevention, with a secondary code of FSAGAFAA, Identity Verification & Digital ID (IDV, eIDAS, biometrics).